Internal electrical wiring for buildings has long been provided by effectively hand stringing electrical cable throughout the building during the construction thereof and individually connecting various circuit branches to the various electrical devices, such as switches, outlets and lighting units which are typically found in a home, apartment, or office. When carried out according to this customary hand stringing procedure the wiring of even a home of modest proportions is a substantial job requiring many hours of skilled labor.
Very few attempts have been made to modernize or systemmatize the electrical wiring process. One example of an attempt to reduce on-site electrical wiring time in favor of factory preassembly is described in the British Patent Specification 597,877, dated Feb. 5, 1948. In that patent, a wiring unit is provided comprising a central terminal box of sheet metal construction containing terminals for the connection of feeders from a main distribution board. The unit further comprises a plurality of flexible cables which radiate outwardly from the terminal box for connection to electrical devices, such as lamps and outlets. According to the patent, the terminal box is installed above the ceiling in a room or portion of a dwelling house to be wired and the various leads are extended outwardly from the terminal box after having been connected to respective terminal pairs within the box such that the devices on the ends of the leads may be secured within the ceiling such as by drilling holes in the ceiling and securing the devices by means of suitable brackets.
Although the device of the British Specification accomplishes a degree of factory preassembly, the overall solution to economic and expeditiously installed electrical wiring is not provided by the British Specification; in general, the requirement for the complex terminal boxes of the British system add substantial cost and complexity. Moreover, the system of the British Specification lacks flexibility or adaptability to various building designs and construction methods.